


Actualisation

by Violet_Crown



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Angst, Bad Ending, Gen, Maruki Takuto's Reality Ending, Persona 5: The Royal Spoilers, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-08
Updated: 2021-01-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 15:20:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,102
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28547772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Violet_Crown/pseuds/Violet_Crown
Summary: Ren agrees to Maruki's offer after finding out Goro will die if he doesn't. Goro is done being a pawn in other peoples' games and decides to take on Maruki without the Phantom Thieves. Likewise, Sumire is done being strung around like a voiceless puppet.
Relationships: Akechi Goro & Yoshizawa Sumire | Yoshizawa Kasumi, Akechi Goro/Amamiya Ren, Akechi Goro/Kurusu Akira, Akechi Goro/Persona 5 Protagonist
Comments: 6
Kudos: 51





	Actualisation

**Author's Note:**

> I always thought it was total BS that Goro and Sumi (ya know the two characters who don't exactly back down when Ren and the PT disagree with their decisions) would just step back and let Maruki's Actualisation go ahead after Ren agreed to it. I know there's a time skip if the bad ending is chosen but still :/ Anyway here's the product of my annoyance. Enjoy!

“I want to hear you say it aloud. What do you intend to do?”

Ren stays silent. He won’t quite look at him. His eyes dart from the wooden counter to the booths that line Leblanc.

Goro glares at him. “I won’t wait a moment longer. Answer me.”

Ren looks up. They lock eyes. “We’re taking the offer,” Ren says like it’s some decision they’re making together—like he isn’t ripping away the last shreds of Goro’s agency. 

“Are you serious?” Goro asks through gritted teeth. He pulls his glove down, securing it firmly in place. Damn him for ever letting Ren have that part of him.

With three simple words, Ren strikes him with the executioner's axe: “I am serious.”

Goro nods. “Well, I have your answer,” he says with the light flute-like voice of the Detective Prince. He turns around. Ren isn’t even allowed to look at him anymore. “There’s nothing left I can say.” He clenches his fists and injects as much aggression into his next words as humanly possible: “Our deal’s off.”

With that, Goro walks out of the cafe.

The biting cold air hits him, but it’s not quite hostile; nothing is now. Soft snowflakes drift down. The scene outside is serene and peaceful. Even this late, Goro can hear the happy chattering of people and the purring of wandering cats.

It’s a silly juvenile thought, but he had come to think of Leblanc as a home of sorts, a safe haven from the outside world. He’d come to think of Ren as— It doesn’t matter now. None of it matters now.

DAMN HIM!

He’s still standing outside Leblanc. He forces himself to move on. If Ren wanted to run outside and grovel at his knees for forgiveness he would have done it by now.

DAMN HIM!

They went through the entirety of Maruki’s culty palace together, fighting side-by-side for this? For nothing!? How can he be so fucking spineless? And Maruki set him out in front of Ren like fucking bait and that idiot was stupid enough to fall for the trap. For him… If that piece of shit actually cared about him he’d never have accepted it!

DAMN HIM!

No, Goro is not just going to accept this. Ren isn’t the only fucking chosen trickster. He has the wildcard too and he’s not letting Maruki brainwash him into being some docile little puppet.

Allies. He needs allies. If Ren had taught him one thing it was that. Because clearly, he wasn’t good for anything else. Goro had really believed in him... He hadn’t agreed entirely with his shiny sense of justice, but he had believed in Ren. But now it seems he has been proven wrong. Ren is a selfish piece of shit. A pusillanimous little— 

He’s getting distracted. He can’t focus on Ren. He needs actual people he can rely on.

Goro opens the group chat. _Ren has taken Maruki’s offer,_ he texts. _I refuse to accept this._

He waits. And waits. Slowly a sting of replies come sailing in. They swirl and bleed together. A unanimous cry of support for their precious leader.

_We never take a target unless it’s unanimous. We can’t go up against Maruki alone._

_He’s our leader. You don’t get to call the shots!_

_If he really thinks it’s the best option. I trust his judgement. My father…_

_I mean Maruki is granting our wishes. He’s our leader._

_As the Phantom Thieves, it is our goal to help as many people as possible._

_I think this is for the best._

Because of course! The Phantom Thieves always did things together! Like friends! And everything was magical and happy! 

Goro wants to throw his phone to the ground.

He storms off to the Sakura residence. Futaba at least might be a little bit more co-operative in person. Realistically he can’t forcibly snap all of them out of it, but Futaba’s Persona is one of the strongest and she’s the only one he can reach.

He bangs on the door. 

A tired-looking Sojiro opens it. “Akechi?” he asks. He opens the door wider. “What are you doing here? Is there something wrong?”

Goro nods. “I need to speak to your daughter. It’s Phantom Thief business.”

Sojiro's eyes widen. “This late? Are you sure it can’t wait until tomorrow?”

“Yes,” Goro hisses.

Sojiro looks over his shoulder. “Uh, Futaba,” he calls. “Akechi’s here to see you.”

Slowly a door creaks open and a skeletal girl with orange hair emerges. She patters forward cautiously. “I’m not going,” she says. 

Goro bares his teeth. “This isn’t up for debate.”

Futaba shakes her head. “You don’t know what it’s like!” She brings her fists to her sides. “And you’re the one who—” She stops. They stare at each other for a split second of total silence. Without warning, she bolts back into her room and slams the door shut. 

Goro lunges forward but a hand on his chest stops him. If he really wanted he could break every bone in that hand, he could charge forward and drag Futaba into the Metaverse. Goro steps back.

“I think you should go,” Sojiro says. His voice is stern, but not unkind. The ideal father. 

Goro walks away. Damn them, he’ll just take Maruki alone. He spent years in the Metaverse alone, he can take one more day. Ren will probably still be awake, maybe he can… No. He made his choice.

Goro looks back at his phone. He stares at the messages and reads over each one carefully. There’s nothing from Ren. Hopefully, he’s wracked with guilt, crying in the attic like the trash he is. Goro hopes he’s suffering now. He hopes he continues suffering for the rest of his fucking life.

All of them— All of them just accept it. Everyone. 

Everyone but Sumire. 

He can’t see a response from her. Maybe she hasn’t seen it. No, she’s there. 

He texts her privately. _I refuse to let myself be brainwashed into someone I’m not. I spent two and a half fucking years under the thumb of an aspiring fascist dictator and I refuse to be controlled ever again._

It’s more honest than he would like—Feelings he’s already spilled to Ren. Telling someone else is…

 _I’ll be there,_ Sumire replies. 

Goro clicks off his phone and slips it into his pocket. Thank god for Sumire. He supposes it’s fitting that two lab rats band together.

The next day he finds himself an old routine. Palace infiltration is nothing new after all. Everything he does is mechanical. He takes a shower, he gets changed, he looks through his supplies and stuffs everything into a bag. It’s a simple routine; one he can and does do without thought. Because if he thinks, he’ll remember that one of the furnaces is filled with coffee made by Ren’s careful hands.

**_“I made it with love,” he says._ **

**_Goro rests his chin on his fist. “Why do I sense something bad is going to happen when I drink this?” He fixes Ren with a glare, but his traitorous lips quirk up into a too-fond smile—too genuine._ **

**_“When have I let you down before?”_ **

Goro zips up the duffel bag. Don’t think. Don’t think about how some of the pills are his. From a doctor friend of his if he recalls correctly. He did always manage to find the oddest people.

**_“Goro, it’s just in case. I know you like to go into Mementos alone sometimes and even if you won’t take me, at least take these.”_ **

**_Goro rolls his eyes_ ** _—_ Or maybe he has huffed? Something like that— **_“I don’t need to be worried over like some irresponsible pet.”_ **

**_Ren ignores him and shoves the medicine towards him. “Why?” Goro asks._** He was just in the mood to be difficult if he’s remembering correctly.

**_“I don’t want you to die.”_ **

Goro slings the bag over his shoulder. He has to admire him. Ren did manage to spin his lies so well, so expertly. No wonder he’d spend a bulk of their friendship tied up in his feelings of jealousy. Jealousy that got so wrapped up into other feelings. Twisting until any other emotions were hard to find in the haystack. Time to put them back in the haystack.

It is fitting revenge if anything. Ren’s mouth worked so expertly to convince them their bond had meaning, right up until he stabbed him in the back and twisted the blade. It would’ve been easier if Ren had just shot him. At least if his brains had been spilled out onto the floor, he wouldn’t have to dance like a puppet with new strings. 

He opens his phone and calls Sumire. It rings. He needs to make sure he isn’t going in alone. She was one of the closest people to Ren. She better not be getting cold feet. 

“Hi, Akechi-senpai!” She answers cheerfully. Too cheerfully. “How are you going?”

“Yoshizawa, do you remember what I told you last night?” He asks cautiously.

“Uhh let me just think for a second.” She pauses and Goro waits, impatiently tapping his foot. “Sorry, I’m kinda tired. Do you mind if we talk later?”

“Just try to remember.”

Silence. 

Then: “Sorry, Akechi-senpai, I’ve got a headache. I think I’m going to lie down for a bit. Could you please call me back later?” 

“Don’t hang up!” Goddamn it, Maruki must already be preparing to take full control. Desperation bleeds into his next words: “Please don’t hang up.”

“Oh... okay,” she says.

Goro grits his teeth. “Just try to remember. I texted the Phantom Thieves group chat telling everyone Ren was taking Maruki’s offer. A bit later I texted you privately.” He hears shuffling on the other end, then silence. “Yoshizawa! Don’t fall into his control!”

“I remember,” she says finally. Then with a much more determined voice: “I’ll be at the stadium as soon as possible. We’ll take him down together!”

“I’m heading over now.” He hangs up. 

Goro looks over his apartment. Now that Maruki has wiped his crimes from this reality, the litter of leftover files and papers is gone. It leaves his apartment clean. Barren, one might call it. He’s never really viewed it as a home, just a place to reside in. There is nothing personalised about it, there are no knickknacks collected over the couple of years he’s lived here, there are books, but besides those, nothing that signals it was him who lived here. The apartment could belong to anyone. 

He slams the door behind him. He won’t miss this place.

It doesn’t take long for Sumire to arrive. She runs up to him, cheeks rosy from the biting cold. The distress is clear on her face. “What made him change his mind?” 

Goro presses his lips together in a tight line. How can he tell her that her only real friend threw away her life for him? No not for him, because there’s no way he makes it into Maruki’s dream world as himself. Goro’s too much of a chaotic force to exist in Maruki’s peaceful and orderly society. Ren threw away everything for a shell—a broken fragment. Does he even know what he’s done? If they fail will he wake up to the perfect and realise that he threw everything away for nothing? Will he be distraught to find it’s not really him who happily sips his coffee?

Sumire’s looking at him, eyes wide—confused, fearful, betrayed. Goro can only answer honestly. “I should be dead. His wish was to bring me back so we could—” How had Maruki phrased it? “—have a fresh start together.”

Goro watches carefully for her reaction. Will she hate him? It’s more than fair if she does. 

She clasps her hands over her mouth and tilts her head down so her hair covers her eyes. She sucks in a breath of cold air and exhales slowly. Then again. She looks up. Her eyes glisten. “I’m sorry,” she whispers.

Goro stays silent. Honestly, he doesn't know how to answer that. Really if anything it should be him that apologising. Of course, it’s not his fucking fault. It’s Ren’s fault and Maruki’s fault, but he was the temptation that Maruki dangled in front of Ren. “I think we should get going,” he says finally. She nods.

Goro pulls out the MetaNav and transports them into the Palace. The structure twists up to a ball of yellow light. Rings of scaffolding line it with TV set lights adorning them. It really does go to show just how artificial the entire place is. 

“When this is over,” Sumire says. “Can we… you know… hang out?” Goro stares at her. Really, now? Now!? She retreats in on herself. “Sorry. I’m not really good at this.”

Goro can’t help but smile despite himself. “Help me beat Maruki and it’s a deal.” Sumire nods. 

Goro wills himself to the closest available safe room. He’s met with a dull room filled with boxes and dirty sheets. Sumire holds the door open for him and together they run to the elevator. 

The doors open and together they step into the Edenic paradise. The scene is... Oneiric, unreal—Fake. Golden beams of sunlight light the greenery with a soft glow and the air is warm and inviting—nothing like the cold of the outside world. Around them, dandelion seeds float in the air like fairies. Everything leads to a massive tree that climbs up and up. Giant apples with camera lens sittings at their centres hang from the twisting branches. Huge rectangular planes of glass stick out from the trunk, growing yellow and pink.

“You made it,” a voice booms out. Maruki’s voice. He sounds more than confused.

Goro smirks. Clearly, they caught the fucker by surprise. “Well, Joker sent the calling card. Weren’t you aware? When a target is selected and a calling card is sent, the Phantom Thieves come to take that shithead’s treasure.” 

Maruki looks between them. “But Ren—” 

“Decided wrong,” Sumire cuts in. Her voice is strong and it tells Goro everything he needs to know. 

An audible sigh is heard. “Come on up... I'll meet with you at the centre of paradise.” As Maruki finishes the planes of glass form into a winding staircase, circling up and around the trunk of the tree.

“Well, we can finally move on now that we've got some stairs.” Goro turns to Sumire. “Let's end this.”

She nods. “Right!”

Goro breaks off into a run up the stairs and Sumire catches up to him. They stay silent throughout the climb, just focusing on the sounds of their feet as their boots hit the glass and the sounds of chirping growing further and further away. As they get higher the morning glow from below disappears and is replaced with the night sky from outside. Looking over the edge, Goro can see buildings, dwarfed by the tower.

The stairs continue above the three until only thin branches join them on their journey. 

They run up further. The stairs are wrapped up in a golden metal circle and the stairs start circling a diamond-shaped structure. And there’s a door.

"I see the top now! We're almost there!” Sumire says.

They head inside and the stairs continue. It’s much darker now. The tree is completely gone and dark thick tendrils replace the branches. Shimmering, they wrap themselves up and up. The apples remain too. Up close Goro can see it’s not that they have camera lenses inside them, but rather they are indents which the image of camera lenses are being projected into. 

Finally, they reach the highest point, a dark flat platform inside a room made up of dark tentacle-like arms. In the centre stands Maruki, wearing the same crisp white suit. Paired with the slicked-back hair, he looks like a true cult leader.

“Thank you for coming.” Maruki turns around. His eyes shine with a pitting expression. “It looks like your answer differs from your leader’s.” Goro wants to dig his metal claws through his face. How dare he look at them with pity, like he’s above them? He’s the one who’s doing this to them! “Let's begin. If you win, my heart will be changed... However, if I win... My reality becomes the true reality. I will overwrite all of your existence with my own cognition. I'm not holding back anymore.” 

The platform beneath their feet rumbles as the very room itself shakes. 

“Just as you have your own beliefs, I too have no intention of changing my plans for reality.” He extends a gloved hand. “No matter what happens to me in the end, I will fix this torturous world!” He lowers his arm and the world around them goes foggy and static. “That... is my own rebellion!” 

Golden light swarms around him. It glows purple. There’s a flash. Goro squints. Maruki’s caped silhouette stands out against the oppressive white light. It blinks out and Maruki comes into full view. Decked out in a skin-tight golden suit, white cape, and tall gilded shield-shaped mask, he steps forward holding a golden spiked staff—The image of an opulent priest. 

"And I believe you called forth your power like this: Persona.” He raises a hand to his mask. A ferocious growl echoes across the room. Behind him, his Persona shimmers into view tentacle-like arms sway from side to side, coming up from the looping mass of limbs. They sprout from a geometric golden statue-like body, intended to give the impression of a human torso, with a metallic spine and ribcage. 

“I'd regret not pointing this out to you... You shouldn't mistake our powers as being equal, especially with your current numbers.” Maruki turns to his Persona. “It's time, Azathoth... Our final battle has come.”

Sumire steps forward. “Doctor Maruki…”

“I have to do this…” Maruki says, sweeping out a hand. Tendrils erupt from the ground, waving and wriggling like kelp on an ocean floor.

Goro turns to Sumire. “Stay safe. Don’t die.” She nods. 

Goro rushes forward. He weaves through the grabbing tendrils and strikes at Maruki. One of them shoots out, parrying his blade. Goro slashes through it, chopping it in half. In seconds another takes his place. Sumire’s sword pieces it and flicks upwards, leaving it split down the centre. It thrashes around before shrivelling up. 

Goro focuses on the next and then the next. He grabs his blaster and sends three holes into one. “Persona!” Above him, Robin Hood shoots the next with beams of golden light. Goro rolls to the side, dodging one snaking arm, then jumping over another. 

He lunges. His blade plunges into Maruki’s arm but before he can do any real damage he’s swept away. He crashes to the floor. Fuck. He was so close. 

He hears a cry of “Persona” from nearby. Green light dances around him and he rises to his feet. 

He turns his attention back to Maruki. He’s standing in the centre of the room. His arm looks fine. He must have healed himself. Fuck. He just needs something to get past the tentacle-like arms. Something… 

Goro's mouth breaks into a grin. Bet Maruki isn’t going to expect this. “Loki,” he calls. Loki’s disorienting form appears loyally by his side. Goro nods to him. Loki spins his sword and a familiar power surges through him. 

Hot. Burning. Blistering rage. It swirls within him, so thick he almost chokes. Goro’s grip tightens around his sword and he bares his teeth as Maruki.

Goro flies at him, slashing his sword. A limb crawls towards him. He hacks it up and leaps out of the way as another comes his way. Following him, Loki calls down his burning sword onto the writhing mass. 

A flash a black, red, and silver. Black blood follows golden spikes of light piercing the Persona. 

Goro leaps forward again, cutting and slashing and hacking. Bits of flesh and blood go flying into the air. He laughs feeling the rubbery flesh give way. 

His blood boils and rages through him. The craws of his gauntlets—his jagged blade—the feeling of his finger pressing against the trigger of his gun—it all bleeds together.

He’s only vaguely aware of his surroundings. Enough to block and dodge and enough to notice the girl by his side—piercing the tentacular limps—and the flying swords that appear and disappear. 

“Loki!” He calls. He jumps back as blinding light fills the room. A guttural laugh leaves his mouth and it’s almost as if he’s watching the scene in third person. His body moves on its own and Loki follows loyally by his side. 

They keep on growing back. More and more. Goro slashes through them. So many that he doesn’t have to aim. So many that he doesn’t have to watch where he swings. Blaster fire, blood and swords fill his vision. Ella’s flying swords—a glint of silver—Sumire rushing forward.

It repeats and repeats.

More and more and more.

Time stretches on and his limbs grow sore. Heavy breaths escape his mouth, but he still swings again and again. But his sword only hacks so far into flesh before the resistance is too much and he has to withdraw and strike again. 

He looks over to Sumire. She’s in a similar position. Her sword is held high, but her breaths are heavy and her movements exaggerated, almost as if she were putting on a show.

Something smashes into him. Goro goes flying. A limb snakes towards him but Sumire slashes through it. Goro desperately gulps in air, ignoring the pain. It thuds in his heart and pumps through his blood. 

He looks down for only a second. Shit. He’s badly bruised. Blood trickles down from cuts along his arms. He hadn’t even noticed them. 

He brings his arching hand to his pocket. Empty. The bag. Empty. Nothing. Sumire probably used everything to heal the two of them during his rampage. Goro staggers to his feet. They haven't lost yet.

Something flies at him. 

“Shi—”

The arm throws Goro back. His back slams into the floor. Something crushes him. Sumire? She hoists herself up and almost gets to her knees before falling back down beside him.

Goro closes his eyes. Fuck. Fuck, they’re done. He wants to scream until his throat bleeds and his lungs burn but he can barely bring himself to open his eyes again. 

Maruki looms over them. “I’m sorry for the events that have occurred. I know you disagree with my reality.”

Biting remarks swirl and die on his tongue. He settles for “fuck off.”

Callous pity wells up in Maruki’s eyes. “I didn’t want things to come to this, but it will all be okay soon. I’ll leave the two of you be, to watch the sunrise.”

Goro forces himself onto his knees and fixes Maruki with a glare, but he’s already turned away and his Persona ensures the two of them won’t be able to do jackshit. FUCK!

Maruki lifts a hand and the dark platform underneath their feet dissolves revealing a layer of thick glass. Goro turns away from him and sees the organic vines shifting. Then the walls open up revealing a night sky.

Sumire sits close to the ledge. Goro forces his broken body to move forward. 

“May I call you Goro?” She asks. She turns to look at him with the eyes of a corpse.

Goro fixes his eyes on the skyline. Light peeks through the horizon. “If I can call you Sumire,” He responds. There’s no humour in his voice. 

She nods eagerly—no, desperately. “Please do.”

“Okay, Sumire.”

He looks back and she meets his gaze with a smile. It’s a sad broken smile. It’s a smile that comes with the knowledge that he’ll be the last person on earth to call her by that name. 

Goro lies back onto the ice-cold glass. He hears the metal clank of Sumire’s silver belt and sword and she lies down next to him. The black sky spreads out above them. Twinkling stars dot the night sky. One sails across the sky. _Make a wish,_ an ironic voice in his head says. Like he gets a wish. He’s not allowed to want anything anymore. He’ll be barely human in the morning. 

He hears a sniffle. Goro turns his head to look at Sumire. Tears well up in her eyes. “I-I thought he really—” she sniffles. “I thought he cared about me. He was my friend and he was just willing—” She breaks down into sobs.

Goro puts a hand around hers. 

She turns her head to look at him. Her crimson eyes shine. “I loved him,” she chokes out.

Goro squeezes her hand. “Me too.” She squeezes his hand back. There’s a bitter taste at the back of his throat and he bites back the tears that form in his eyes. 

He really did. 

Love. The word that was refused to move from the tip of his tongue. He never let it escape his mouth, but it never let go. He couldn’t ever tell him. It would only be a cruel slap in the face, an additional temptation to accept Maruki’s offer. But really he’d never expected Ren to accept. He’d kept the word shut tight inside him because he didn’t want his death to be more painful than it had to be. Now he wishes he’d slapped the word across Ren’s face and let it rot. Loved. 

Goro lets go of Sumire’s hand and pulls himself to his feet. “We failed, but I’m not giving up.” The fire returns to his voice, hot and scorching his throat in the most painful way. He offers out his hand. Unsure, Sumire takes it and he hoists her to her feet.

“I’m going to jump,” he says. He looks over the ledge. The city expands into the sunset and the ground promises him freedom. 

Sumire breathes in. And slowly breathes out. “Okay.” She nods to herself. “Yeah, okay. Let's end this.” She comes up next to him. 

Goro’s eyes widen. “You’re—”

“I’ve made my choice,” Sumire says. “The life Maruki promises isn’t a life. I—as I am now—will die either way.” She smiles shakily. “May as well enact one final act of rebellion.”

Goro nods. He breathes in. Fuck, they’re really doing this. His entire body trembles. It feels almost separate from him. 

“Can I hold you?” Sumire asks. “I— I don’t want to be alone.” Goro nods. Sumire wraps her arms around him and buries her face into his shoulder. He can feel her mask press into his shoulder. “Ah just a moment,” she says softly. She steps back.

They don’t have much time… The sun is already rising over the horizon, bright hot and yellow. It burns into the clouds, making them appear molten hot.

Blue flames appear in the corner of his vision. He looks back to Sumire. Ella floats in front of her, her white veil floats gracefully behind her despite the whipping win. “Goodbye Kasumi!” Ella disappears, but Sumire's mask doesn’t reappear. 

Goro throws his own mask to the ground. Loki appears in a flash of blue flames. Goro nods to him. Loki nods back, baring his sharp red teeth. It’s almost a smile. Loki disappears in a flash and Robin Hood takes his place, standing tall and majestic. He nods to Goro and Goro returns it. He too fades. 

Goro stands on the edge of the platform. Sumire stands next to him. They embrace.

They step forward. Together.

Wind rips around them like a knife. Sumire’s nails dig into his skin through his clothes, drawing blood. He pulls her closer, tight to the point of suffocation.

White light blinds his vision. He shuts his eyes but it invades every part of him.

No… 

Goro happily sips that the coffee Ren just made for him. It’s delicious. He was a little apprehensive when Ren promised he would “put some love into it” but it tastes wonderful.

Kasumi sits in the seat next to him. Her hair is tied up into a high ponytail with a bright red ribbon that sits nicely with her auburn hair. She sips at her own cup. She glances over at him with warm brown eyes, then back to her mug. A few seconds pass and she puts it down next to an empty plate.

Ren stands across from them on the other side of the bench. He leans forward, resting an elbow on the counter, then props his chin upon his fist. The world glows around him. There’s a floaty quality about it. His hair seems to move almost like they’re underwater. His dark eyes are fixed intently on Goro. He’s always loved the intensity of Ren’s gaze, it’s a shame the glasses conceal it. Odd… the lenses look thicker than normal.

“How is it?” There’s something to Ren’s voice he can’t quite place.

“Perfect,” Goro replies.

Ren’s brows pinch together. Goro doesn’t like that expression. He wants Ren to be happy. “Is there something wrong?” Goro asks. He leans forward with a playful smile. “My compliments not good enough for you now?” 

Ren shakes his head. “It’s fine.” His voice is soft, but not in the way it should be. It’s dull and lifeless.

“Senpai?” Kasumi fixes him with a questioning look, tilting her head slightly to the side.

Goro reaches a hand forward. “What’s wrong Ren?” The last thing Goro wants in the world is for Ren to suffer. “What’s wrong?” He repeats.

Ren’s expression contorts into one Goro fails to categorise. He looks down, and then, without warning, bolts. The ring of the bell spills into empty air—and then, the slamming of the door. Goro stares out. He looks back to Kasumi, who appears equally stunned.

The world ripples.

Goro sits down at the bench, in his usual spot next to Kasumi. Sojiro serves each of them a cup of coffee. “Excuse me, Sakura-san. Do you perhaps know where Ren is?” Goro asks. 

Kasumi laughs and flashes an amused smile. “I thought you said you came here for the coffee.”

Goro pointedly ignores her and keeps his eyes trained on Sojiro. Sojiro shrugs and rubs the back of his neck. He looks tired but more exasperated than exhausted. “Who knows with that kid, he always seems to be running around. I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”

Goro smiles and brings the cup to his lips. Even without Ren’s presence, the cafe still feels like home. But he won’t have to wait long. Ren will always come back.

**Author's Note:**

> Guyden wrote a fic inspired by this one called Destruction which expands on the ending. So if the angsty ending of my fic left you feeling sad, go check out Destruction it's really good.
> 
> Here's the link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28634484/chapters/70187640


End file.
